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Feeling reflective today? Me too! Time to take a few moments or days to cleanse our minds and revisit the good and flush out the bad as another year comes to a close. This is life.
Looking back, how was your year? Was 2013 good to you? Were you good to yourself, friends and family? What plans do you have for 2014? Will it be a year of advancing personally or professionally? A year to learn a new skill, practice a new hobby, change jobs, travel, exercise, adventure or will you resolve to relax and will yourself to slow down more often, be more present, and never be too busy.

I have a major sweet tooth, and cookies are like my kryptonite. Most of the year I'm pretty good at moderation, but when December hits, all bets are off.
This time of year, my Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest feeds are full of nothing but amazing holiday sweets: peppermint fudge combos, spice cookies, gingerbread houses, snowball cookies, coookies shaped like snowflakes or ornaments, eggnog baked into every treat imaginable. And then there are the annual cookie swaps and the treats that get brought into the office. It's tough out there!

A cleanse is a very thougthful gift to give to a friend or family member. Perhaps you know someone who has been interested in trying a cleanse, but hasn't bought one for him/herself? Or someone dear to you who could really benefit from the practice, but has never considered and may be pleasantly surprised? Or "What do I get for __________ ?" - that person in your life that has everything, why not a cleanse? It's an experience gift that anyone and everyone can benefit from both physically and mentally!

Thanksgiving day has come and gone, but the memory of my undercooked, 10 pound bird has not. I began with the no-fail oven bags until I quickly discovered the bag had expanded, melting to the coils. Luckily I caught it right away, thanks to my handy dandy nose and the noxious fumes emitting from the oven vent. This is probably another reason not to use plastic. After rescuing the turkey, removing the bag, removing all racks (yes, my oven is that small), I switched to foil and voila! Or, so I had hoped. After repeated basting, thermometer probing, and foil applying and removal, I proudly set the perfectly golden main course on the kitchen counter to carve.

Let's start today giving thanks for everything on our plates! That's right, our plates are full these days, but are we acknowledging that which we have to be oh-so-thankful for? I encourage you to take pause this week and throughout the holiday season (everyday, really!) to close your eyes, reflect, breath and when you open your eyes, smile! Our fortunes are grand and our misfortunes opportunities for growth and rediscovery.